Written by

Pat Graham

Associated Press

DENVER — Kenneth Faried scored 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets rally for a 108-105 win over the slumping Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Ty Lawson also finished with 19 points, including a three-point play with 1:27 remaining that gave the Nuggets the lead for good and sent them to their third straight win.

Orlando just can’t get on track since Glen Davis went out with a sprained left shoulder, dropping a 10th straight game in the big man’s absence. He currently isn’t with the team but it was hoped he might rejoin them at some point during the current four-game trip.

Trailing by nine early in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets roared back and tied the game at 99 on an alley-oop dunk by Faried. But the high-energy forward wasn’t done there.

When Andre Iguodala missed a free throw on the next possession, Faried dove on the ground for the loose ball and scooped it up, quickly calling time out.

Out of the break, Lawson hit a layup and was fouled. Moments later, Danilo Gallinari put the finishing touches on the win with a dunk off an inbound pass from Andre Miller.

Jameer Nelson led the Magic with 20 points, while Arron Afflalo added 12 against his former team before fouling out late in the game. Reserve Corey Brewer gave the Nuggets an early spark, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the second quarter when the team was struggling.

Afflalo returned to the court against his former team to applause — at least for introductions. Soon after that he was treated like any other opposing player and constantly heckled. When Afflalo made his first basket, someone screamed, “Who?!”

Afflalo was once a fan favorite, too, especially after signing a long-term contract. But the Nuggets saw an opportunity to upgrade the squad in the offseason and dealt Afflalo, along with Al Harrington, to Orlando as part of the blockbuster deal that landed Dwight Howard with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In exchange, Denver wound up with Iguodala, who hit a big 3-pointer late when the Magic were threatening to pull away. The Nuggets also tried to pick up big man Nikola Vucevic in the deal, but team executive Masai Ujiri couldn’t get him included in the trade.

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Vucevic showed Nuggets fans why he was so coveted, scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 rebounds for the Magic. He also missed a dunk late in the game before fouling out.

Seeing Afflalo leave town was difficult for Nuggets coach George Karl, who constantly relied on the guard’s easygoing demeanor during Afflalo’s three seasons in Denver.

Said Karl before the game: “Someone taught (Afflalo) at a very early age that winning is why you play. It’s very deep in his basketball soul. You play the game to win. It’s not numbers. It’s not stats. It’s to win.”

The Magic built a 10-point lead in the first half, only to have the Nuggets tie it. Maurice Harkless managed to send the Magic into the locker room at the break with a 55-53 lead when he hit a layup in the final seconds.

Asked before the game if he was sweating the losing streak, coach Jacque Vaughn turned into a philosopher.

“To be able to fight adversity and see how you respond is a true test of a man’s character, which ultimately is his destiny,” Vaughn said. “That is who you are. Life is what you make of it. That is your own destiny. It’s a great opportunity to forge your own destiny.”